Would you rather...

My brother and I made up this game when we were younger called Would you rather. The game involves presenting the other person with two equally unappealing options which they must then choose between. You know you've come up with a good one when both options make the other person cringe but then it takes some time for them to make their choice. (Don't ask me when or why we came up with this; I honestly can't recall.) I was reminded of the game earlier this week while driving across the country for the third time in a little over a month. That's when I came up with a real winner: Would you rather drive across Kansas or drive across South Dakota? Ouch. For anyone who has experienced it, the thought of each makes you shudder. Each presents 400+ miles of sheer boredom. I have been pondering it for a few days and still haven't been able to make the call. Two equally unappealing options. Perfect. Fortunately, I'll have a few weeks before I must make that decision. Please feel free to weigh in with your thoughts, dear readers.

But, on to more interesting things. My second trip across Kansas in just under a week brought my friend Megan and I to Boulder, Colorado where Megan's parents have a condo which they have kindly agreed to let us occupy for the next two weeks. On Wednesday, our first day of climbing here, Megan and I headed to Boulder Canyon which, as you might expect, is literally just outside of downtown Boulder. We spent the day at a nice buttress right off the road called Cob Rock.

The crux of the day was actually getting to the crag. Some kind soul had set up a Tyrolean traverse to allow us to cross the stream and get to the rock. Fortunately, Megan went first to show me the way.

We started on a route called Empor which is a fun two-pitch 5.7. We opted for a direct start to the climb (as opposed to the typical start from atop a large boulder) which felt 5.8-ish.

We got in several more pitches including a fun wide 5.8 crack that required use of the techniques I recently had a chance to practice in Vedauwoo. Fortunately, the granite in Boulder Canyon was a little more friendly on the skin.

After a good day at Boulder Canyon, our original plan for today was to climb the Direct Route on the First Flatiron. However, after oversleeping and seeing the morning's cloudy skies we opted to head for Eldorado Canyon instead. Eldorado Canyon is a place where I have wanted to climb for a long time. As some of you may recall, Megan and I had a previous trip to Boulder to climb here last Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, I broke my foot a couple of weeks before we left, and so I was on crutches last time we visited the canyon. That was not exactly the way Megan and I had envisioned it when we planned that trip. So, needless to say, we were both eager to get back and actually climb there. We decided to start on the Wind Ridge on Wind Tower and opted for the 5.8 start which goes directly up the ridge.

Megan on the first pitch

The route continues for two more pitches of easier climbing (5.6) up the ridge.

Atop the second pitch with part of the Bastille visible in the background

Headed up the second pitch

The entire climb was a lot of fun and is highly recommended. After a bit of scrambling on the summit, we managed to locate the rappel/descent and arrived back at our packs just in time for the start of a light rain. We called it a day with the intention of going back to Eldorado tomorrow to climb a couple of routes that we scoped out this afternoon. Megan and I both found the climbing at Eldorado to be more interesting than at Boulder Canyon and there are a number of routes that we are interested in returning for, so long as the weather cooperates.

It seems that going to so many new areas and having the chance to lead some of the good moderate climbs in those areas is finally starting to make me feel more comfortable while leading. Each new place presents a new type of rock, route- and descent-finding, and other unique challenges. It is a good feeling (and a nice change for me) to feel more comfortable and confident about those unknowns when heading out into new territory on lead.

As always, thanks for reading. More to come.